CSI2* Rome
Italy

Wilhelm Genn and Palim Palim on their way to victory. Photo by Mancini Photos.Equestrian Sport Productions hosted its New Year's Show on December 26-30, 2012, at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, FL. The show featured the $25,000 CitiBank New Year's Grand Prix as well as a $10,000 Open Jumper Stake and a full schedule of "AA" hunter and 4-star jumper competition. The $25,000 New Year's Grand Prix, sponsored by CitiBank, was held on Sunday, December 30, with 24 entries jumping a course set by Mauricio Garcia Ballesteros of Puerto Rico. Eight of the original entries jumped clear over the first round course to advance to the jump-off, and six of those went double clear. Wilhelm Genn and Nancing Gooding's Palim Palim had the fastest time of 41.070 seconds for the win.

Palim Palim, is a ten-year-old Westphalian gelding by Polytraum. Wilhelm Genn has been riding the gelding since May of this year and was excited to get the win this weekend. "He is fairly green at that level," Genn said. "I don't know how many grand prix he has done, but I don't think he has jumped more than 15 grand prix. He is a good horse. I think with a little more experience he can hopefully start doing some World Cup classes too."

Genn commented on the class, stating, "I thought it was a very well-built course; a very good class. The jumps were a good size. It was very well done. You could go with a younger horse and not have to worry about getting them scared. The footing was perfect. It was a beautiful class, it was a beautiful day, good competition and all of the horses jumped well, so not more you could wish for."

Going into the jump-off, Genn explained, "At first I wasn't planning on going that fast, but the horse felt great. Kirsten Coe had gone and she was pretty fast already. The horse felt so good on the first few jumps, I just kept going with it and it was good enough to win. The horse felt super in the first round too, he jumped really well."

Wilhelm Genn and Palim Palim with Diane L. Bentivegna, Executive Vice President, Division Manager, Florida, of CitiBank. Photo by Mancini Photos.Genn and his sons, Ryan and Theo, have all been showing in Wellington throughout the last two months and have had lots of success with their horses. The family plans on moving on to a few different circuits for the rest of the winter. "I used to come here every year and then we didn't have any horses for the bigger classes," Genn explained. "We did a lot of sales, so we didn't want to do just one circuit. We did Palm Beach and then Jacksonville, Gulfport and Houston. That worked really well because that way you approach all of the different markets, not just one market, so that is what we are doing now too. We have been here for about two months, we are still here next week and then we are going to Pensacola for three weeks and then Gulfport, Pin Oak Charity, which is one of the best shows in the country, and then Houston for three weeks. They are all different groups of people going to these different circuits and that gives us a chance to be in contact with a lot more people, which has worked very well for us the last five years."

Darragh Kenny and User ID won the Welcome Stake. Photo by Mancini Photos.Finishing behind Genn, Paul O'Shea placed second aboard Michael Hayden's Instant Karma with a very close time of 41.289 seconds. Just behind them, Kirsten Coe and Mary Claire McDonald's Chicago Lyngriis finished third in 41.794 seconds. Georgina Bloomberg and Radio City, owned by Gotham Enterprizes LLC, stopped the clock in 42.209 seconds to place fourth. Lauren Tisbo and Roundthorn Madios, owned by Tequestrian Farms LLC, placed fifth in 43.205 seconds. Wilhelm Genn's horse Cookie Monster and son Ryan Genn finished sixth with a time of 44.475 seconds.